Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains are a rugged spine across Russia, running 1,300 miles from the fringe of the Arctic in the North, to the bend of the Ural River in the South. Traditionally they form a boundary between Europe and Asia. The north- south course of the Urals is relatively narrow, varying from about 20 to 90 miles in width, but it cuts across the vast latitude landscape regions of the Eurasian landmass, from Arctic waste to semidesert; the Urals also are part of the Ural economic region, a highly developed industrial complex closely tied to the mineral-rich Siberian region, and are the home of people with roots reaching deep into history. Physical Features